The Elixir

by George Willson

  Seward checked the time and figured he had a couple of hours before he needed to start on the train to Whitby – plenty of time to check on his other patients in an attempt to get Renfield’s words out of his head.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  After an evening she could barely remember, Lucy had felt much better over the next day. She had lunch and tea with her mother again, who remarked positively over her daughter’s improvement. Lucy remembered, however, that both Seward and his friend, Dr. Van Helsing, had both indicated that she improved before she went downhill yesterday. She wondered if what they did would stay with her, or if she would simply get worse yet again.

  She was really quite scared at this point. After a month of health followed by weakness, she had no idea what was going on with her, nor did she feel like she was getting any better. Yes, some days were better than others, and she had to admit today was one of the best so far, but she still did not feel like she did before that night that Mina said she had rescued her from the cemetery while sleepwalking.

  She was always embarrassed over her sleepwalking, and never told anyone about it for fear of judgment. Mina only learned of it incidentally, and did what she could to help. It seems that the unfortunate tendency was to catch up with her now in the form of this odd illness.

  She touched the marks on her neck and closed her eyes. Somewhere in her mind she saw the face of a kind, old man who promised to take care of her, and wondered if this were a guardian angel or the face of God. He promised to care for her, and she remembered dreaming of a communion where he shared his blood with her, and right after that, she got better for a couple of days. She looked forward to another time when she could see him again, but she knew she could not tell the men of this dream or vision. They might think she was mad.

  Seward came by in the evening to check on her, and she was happy to see him again, though he did not look good. If she had to guess, she thought he looked exhausted.

  “John, why don’t you sit and rest for awhile?” Lucy asked.

  “I will be fine, I promise,” Seward lied. She could always tell when someone was lying to her.

  “When was the last time you slept properly?” she asked.

  “I confess that I did nap on the train back to Purfleet this morning, and again when I came back up here,” he said.

  “That isn’t good enough, doctor, and you know it,” she said. “You need a proper night’s rest, or won’t be able to take care of me like you’re supposed to.”

  He laughed and nodded. “I suppose that’s true,” he said. “I will keep an eye on you tonight, and I promise to doze off at some point.”

  “Good,” she said, smiling at him. She could see that his smile concealed a world of concern for her, and she fought to not cry at the implications. “I want to thank you, John.”

  “For?”

  “For trying.”

  “My dear Lucy, don’t talk that way,” he urged. “Dr. Van Helsing is simply the best at what he does. I trust him implicitly, and I know he’ll find the answer to what’s going with you.”

  “And if he can’t?” Lucy asked, her voice cracking.

  “I don’t want to consider that until we are truly left with no other choice,” Seward said. “As of now, we aren’t at the end of our rope yet. So, don’t speak of such a thing yet. You have too much left to live for. What if Arthur were to hear you talking like this? Or your mother?”

  “I’m just,” Lucy began and struggled to continue, “so scared.”

  She moved into him, and he held her as she cried, despair overtaking her. She was so close to happiness with a husband and future, and now this threatened to take it all away from her leaving her with nothing. She sniffled and sat back up away from him.

  “I’m sorry,” she said pathetically.

  “It’s all right,” Seward said. “Comfort is part of my job.” She looked at him and laughed despite herself.

  “You should go home and get some sleep,” Lucy urged. “You really do need it more than I need you watching over me.”

  “Are you certain?” Seward asked. “You know I would—”

  “I know, John,” she said. “I promise I’ve always known.”

  “I’ll be back tomorrow to check up you,” Seward said. “I’ll probably have Dr. Van Helsing with me.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll see you then.”

  She left him to see himself out and walked back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. For a moment, she had a twinge of feeling for the kind Dr. Seward, so she knew she had to get rid of him. When she was well, she had chosen Arthur, and she knew it would only take a few moments to remember why.

  She readied herself for bed and sat on her bed with the lights out. She glanced out the window and thought for a moment she saw a figure standing in the darkness, but a blink later, it was gone. She shook her head and lay down to sleep, hoping everything would be better tomorrow.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Rather than go home as Lucy suggested, Seward took a cab to a local hotel to spend the night in Whitby. He telegrammed Van Helsing to let him know about Lucy’s state that day and where he was staying that night in case he needed anything. As soon as his head touched the pillow, Seward was fast asleep, and given how tired he was, he remembered nothing of dreams or even that he slept until he heard a familiar voice speaking to him.

  For a moment, he was not sure the voice was real until a hand shook him. He opened his eyes and looked into the face of Dr. Van Helsing.

  “As you can see, I received your telegram, and now let us have a spot of breakfast, and then go to the home of Miss Lucy to see how she is doing.”

  Seward nodded and got out of bed. He realized as soon as he touched the floor that he was not entirely rested, nor did he bother to remove even his shoes before falling asleep.

  “I see your exhaustion caught up with you,” Van Helsing said looking him over, “and had you taken the train home, I suspect you would have ended up somewhere you would not wish to be – far removed from your intended destination.”

  Seward suspected this was true, but after the promised breakfast, he felt much better. They waited until about ten before making their way to the Westenra home, and upon their arrival, Mrs. Westenra let them in.

  “Has Lucy been up and around this morning?” Seward asked her.

  “Not as of yet,” Mrs. Westenra replied. “I have been content to let her sleep.”

  “I’m sure she needs it,” Van Helsing said, “but do you mind if we go see her now?”

  “Not at all doctors,” she said and showed them through the house to Lucy’s room. She knocked firmly on the door and called out, “Lucy? Doctors Seward and Van Helsing are here to see you.”

  Having no answer at her knock, Mrs. Westenra cracked the door open and saw Lucy still lying in bed. She gasped and swung the door open for Seward and Van Helsing to enter. The men entered the room and looked down on Lucy, sleeping in bed, but not for need of sleep. Instead, she was quite pale and appeared to be on death’s doorstep. The loss of blood had grown so severe that even her lips appeared to have peeled back from her teeth such as a corpse’s are wont to do.

  “Mrs. Westenra, please wait for us out there,” Van Helsing said pointing toward the living room. Mrs. Westenra took one longing glance at her daughter and left the room. “John, get some brandy.”

  “What does it mean, doctor?” Seward asked desperately as he walked to the hall for the decanter.

  “Our dear Lucy is in desperate need of blood, John,” Van Helsing replied. “I’m afraid we have no time or anyone to ask now. You need to be an emergency donor so that she may continue to survive.”

  “I would do anything,” Seward said, “but to what end are we working? I do not want her to die, you must believe me.”

  “Oh, I do believe you, and I know what you’re asking me,” Van Helsing said. “You’re concerned that all of this is a hopeless venture, and once we are all unable to give her this precious fluid
, she will die anyway. It is my sincere hope that we may find an answer before it is too late.”

  “What are the chances of this though,” Seward asked, and a look into Van Helsing’s eyes told him the answer he did not wish to hear. He could see the sad expression on his old friend’s face, and knew that hope in this case was in short supply. He nodded without waiting for an answer and removed his jacket. “Let’s get this over with.”

  As Seward rolled up his sleeve, Van Helsing took the flask of brandy and tried to wet Lucy’s lips, but she was in a swoon and unresponsive. He put the drink on the bedside, and then moved quickly to set up the apparatus. Seward’s blood flowed easily into Lucy, and it hardly seemed like the process started before Van Helsing was unhooking him. Seward looked at Lucy, and as before, color returned to her cheeks.

  “Did you take enough?” Seward asked, feeling as if the process was much longer for Arthur.

  “I confess that I did not allow you to give as much as Mr. Holmwood,” Van Helsing said, and Seward shot him an angry, yet worried, glance. “Simply said, I need for you to keep your strength up as much as possible. He is her lover, and I was willing to take much more from him, but we do not know what our future nights will entail. I cannot have you recovering from this when I need you.”

  “What now then?” Seward asked.

  “We will spend the day here in Whitby, and this evening, we will return here to watch over her as she sleeps,” Van Helsing said. “If we are lucky, we may be able to spend time with her today while she is waking.”

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Van Helsing waited until Seward had settled into a nap on the couch before he used a syringe to draw blood from Lucy. Even though he would see some of Seward’s intermingled, he would be able to find what he was looking for. He set a microscope on a table in the shadows near the window and readied a slide with Lucy’s blood. He had seen the difference between Mutation and human blood before, and he knew that although Lucy was still technically human, she would have that accursed blood running through her veins, desperately dissolving every drop of blood in her body.

  Not wanting to view the inevitable, he took a deep breath and looked at the slide. His suspicions were fully confirmed. Anger welled up within him over the discovery of a Mutation again, but as the young people were sleeping still, he did not wish to make a fuss over this. He could not. Only he knew anything about these creatures, and it was up to him to help with this situation the best he could. Of course, Seward had hit on the prime problem they had; Lucy was getting worse, and he had no way to reverse the condition.

  He could not help but wonder how a Mutation would have ended up in England, though. It had a wet climate by nature, and the Mutation would have to have come over on a boat, which they would, by habit, avoid. The creature would also need to have a guaranteed dry place to stay and a way to test the air outside before hunting, which he would also need to do.

  And then there was still the confusing matter of Lucy.

  He shook his head and placed the remainder of Lucy’s blood into a vial that he could study elsewhere in the hopes that he might find a way to reverse this. He knew the transfusions would slow down the blood dissolution process which would give him time, but eventually, he would run out of donors, and the process would move on to the next step. Over the years, he had gathered some ideas as to what might help turn back the clock on this problem, and it was time to try them out.

  He packed his things and left the room to find Mrs. Westenra sitting in the living room, looking no better for her experience.

  “Please, how is she?” the woman asked him.

  “We always move forward with hope, madam,” Van Helsing replied. “I have left the good Dr. Seward in there with Miss Lucy to help keep an eye on her.”

  “I am grateful for your help, sir,” she gushed.

  “I was wondering, madam, if you might have any garlic on hand,” Van Helsing asked.

  “Certainly,” Mrs. Westenra replied, and she led him into the pantry where she pointed out a handful of cloves on a shelf.

  “Thank you, madam,” he said. “Might I have one of them.”

  “You are welcome to whatever you require, Dr. Van Helsing,” she said, and she left him alone. He did not require but a single clove to test a hypothesis he had always held about garlic. The herb was known to cause a strange reaction among any Fempiror, but he had never had the need until now to test anything against Mutation blood.

  He returned to Lucy’s room where he had setup his microscope, and added a little of the garlic to the blood he had taken. Under the microscope, he noted a promising reaction. The blood turned from Mutation to mostly human, but before he could rejoice, the Mutation condition took back over, and before long, the slide contained only Mutation blood. Still, it held a measure of promise that might buy them some more time. He packed up his things and returned to Mrs. Westenra.

  “I would be most grateful if you could direct me to the local telegraph office,” Van Helsing said as she looked up at him. At her direction, Van Helsing moved into town to send for something he felt would help to slow this reaction down until he could formulate a better plan.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Van Helsing returned to the residence several hours later to find Seward awake and sitting with Mrs. Westenra in the living room. He learned the woman was displeased over Dr. Seward sleeping in Lucy’s room, regardless of his station in life, but more to the point, Lucy was still sleeping, though Seward did indicate she was doing fine at the moment.

  “I beg your pardon, madame,” Van Helsing said, “but I allowed my colleague to remain in her room without thought of its social ramifications. I assure you it will not happen again.”

  “Be sure that it does not,” Mrs. Westenra replied. “This house has plenty of room should you be unable to return home during your care for her. It is quite enough that she is as ill as she is, but I will also not allow any suggestion of impropriety to make its way here.”

  “Of course, madame,” Van Helsing said, and with that, he turned to Seward.

  “My friend, let us awaken Lucy to see how she is, and then I would suggest you return home to check on your affairs and get a proper night’s rest.”

  “I will be fine, doctor,” Seward started, but Van Helsing interrupted him.

  “I’m sure you would be, but you will be far better having slept in your own room. Let us now to our patient, shall we?”

  They made their way through the house to Lucy’s room, and she continued to sleep. Van Helsing touched her head gently and spoke her name in order to rouse her. It did not take long, for she was well rested. Her eyes fell upon Van Helsing, and then on Seward, standing behind him. She smiled.

  “Good morning,” she said. “Or is it morning still?”

  “I’m afraid you have slept the day away, my young friend,” Van Helsing said. “It is already late in the afternoon.”

  “How are you feeling?” Seward asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lucy said. “I am still tired, and I feel something else, but I don’t know.”

  “You look better,” Seward said with a smile.

  “You were always so kind,” Lucy smiled. “I know I am not at my best, and I am embarrassed that you should see me like this.”

  “You know you never needed to impress me,” Seward said.

  “And sweet too,” Lucy added. She looked away from them and sniffed sadly. “Will I ever see my wedding day, doctors?”

  “I hope you will, my dear,” Van Helsing said. “A beautiful young woman such as yourself should not be deprived of such pleasures as these. I will do everything in my power.”

  “Thank you,” she said, but her tone did not indicate that she was as confident as Van Helsing tried to show he was.

  “Now, John,” Van Helsing said, turning to Seward, “I implore you to return to your home in Purfleet to rest. You are welcome to return tomorrow, but for now, you look afright.”

  Seward nodded and with a final fare
well to Lucy, he left. Van Helsing walked to a table and took the garlic he had acquired that day from his pocket. He crushed several cloves and added some water to it in order to make a garlic mush that would be barely drinkable. Not being fond of garlic himself, the smell brought tears to his eyes. Having completed the simple mixture, he brought the cup to Lucy’s bed and sat next to her.

  “You are not going to like this,” Van Helsing said holding the cup out to her.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Garlic,” he replied. “And a little water.”

  Hesitantly, she took the cup from his hand and sniffed it. She squinted her eyes and held it away from her in disgust. “It stings,” she said. “Just the smell of it is enough to make me ill.”

  “I know,” he said gently, “and I’m sorry. But if you drink it, it could give us some time, or even make you better.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “Is this some kind of medicine?”

  “In a way, yes,” he said. “I will guarantee that you will not like it. It might even hurt, and you must believe me when I say I take no pleasure in causing you any physical pain. However, I also must attempt to get you to your wedding day, and this will help us do so.”

  “You’re sure?” she asked.

  He hesitated because in truth, he was not completely sure. He knew the results the garlic had given against her blood sample, but he could not guarantee what kind of result it would have on her person. She saw his hesitation and looked dubiously at the garlic drink he had provided. He knew his hesitation gave her the answer she needed whether it was the one she wanted or not.

  She exhaled in order to brace herself and took a drink from the cup. She gasped and swallowed the mixture, but he could see part of her struggled for air. Her body tensed as she grasped her bed with her unused hand and squeezed the bedclothes. She held out the cup, ready to drop it, but he took it from her before she could. She finally let out a whimper, tears rolling down her cheeks.